Little Black Spider
by Ikthi1
Summary: Rhiayla finds out she is a Wizard, and goes to Hogwarts (set after Harry Potter has left the school) and finds that though Voldemort may be defeated, his followers are not... and they may be ready to find a new Lord.
1. Chapter 1 - Eyes in the Gloom

Chapter 1 ~ Eyes in the Gloom  
  
Rhiayla looked doubtfully at the small, old wooden boats floating serenely along the edge of the lake. Some of them were beginning to take on water, and a few had strange, purple plants growing around and into them. A scattering of lazy flies circled above the water, stray food for the fish keeping an eye out below. or more than fish, perhaps. The looming shape of the Hogwarts Castle was merging into the thickening gloom giving way to night. The exceptionally large gamekeeper, Hagrid, was shuffling around the boats, pulling purple vines off of them, and getting rather entangled. It took him several minutes to rid their transports, and himself, completely of their writhing grasp, before he turned to the array of first-year students all watching him with both apprehension and excitement.  
  
"All righ', all a' yeh, two per boat, an' watch yer step."  
  
Fingering the small, jeweled dragon earring dangling from her right ear, Rhi turned to her two friends, Stephanie and Derek, but they had already paired up and were getting into a boat. She bit her lip, wondering now who she should go with. Everyone was getting into boats, partners already chosen. It was a bit eerie, though not surprising how everyone was near silent. Scanning the darkening shapes of people all moving about, she saw another boy standing back from the crowd, looking rather uneasy; he was fairly skinny and had light hair. Biting her lip, Rhi moved towards him, and he turned to look at her.  
  
"Hey, um," she said, "Do you have a partner?"  
  
"No. Do you?" He peered at her curiously.  
  
Rhi shook her head, and smiled shyly at him. He smiled back.  
  
They moved together through the shuffling crowd, looking for an unoccupied boat. There were only a few left, all of which had water sloshing around on the bottom. Both looking doubtful, they stepped in, doing their best to avoid getting wet. Soon everyone was settled, and Hagrid slid into his own, much larger transport, and they all began to move slowly across the water in unison.  
  
Looking around her, Rhi would have never believed that such a place could be real, much less that she would be going to it. It was only a month ago that she had received an admittance letter from Hogwarts School, but it seemed like forever. At first, she had thought it some weird joke, but after questioning her parents, she found that it wasn't. They were both non-magic folk, but her grandmother on her father's side had been a witch. She came to visit soon after, and told Rhi all about Hogwarts, and took her to a place called Diagon Alley to get her supplies. For the past month she had wondered at all the mystical things she had seen, and bought, especially her wand, which held the hair of a manticore. All her life she had dreamed of magical, wondrous things, and now they were becoming real.  
  
Rhi was snapped out of her reverie by the sound of her partner's voice. "So. do you know which house you want to be in?"  
  
Shaking her head, she replied, "My Gram didn't tell me much about them, so I don't really know."  
  
"Your Gram?"  
  
"Yes, she's the only witch in our family."  
  
"Really? So you're muggle-born?"  
  
"Mu- what?"  
  
"Oh," he smiled, "Muggle. It means 'non-magic person.' "  
  
"Ah. Uh, yeah. My parents are. . . muggle."  
  
"That's cool. My parents are both wizards."  
  
Their conversation was halted as the boats glided peacefully across the last bit of lake to the other side, and Hagrid stepped out onto the ground.  
  
"All righ', everyone ou', an' please follow me."  
  
People got out of their boats and began to make their way between scattered trees and up a slope. Rhi found herself saying goodbye to the boy, and made her way back to Stephanie and Derek. Looking around at the shadowy plants, she wondered at what kinds they could be. She'd never seen anything like them before, and a few were even blue, or pink. Turning to peer into a particularly large clump of brush, she found two glowing, yellow cat-like eyes watching them as they passed. In surprise, and maybe fear, Rhi turned to Stephanie and pointed at the bushes, stopping her in her tracks.  
  
"Look!"  
  
Peering into the shadows, then turning to look at Rhi with one raised eyebrow, she asked, "what?"  
  
Turning back, Rhi found that the eyes were gone. "There were eyes, I saw them, just a moment ago. . ." she trailed off at Stephanie's dubious look.  
  
"You're seeing things."  
  
Rhi looked once again into the growing darkness, but saw nothing. With a sigh, she turned back and continued the walk. It was probably nothing. They followed Hagrid along a long path, and up the steep hill towards the castle. Soon they reached a pair of large, heavy-looking doors, where Hagrid paused, and they opened.  
  
They were met by an older, gray-haired witch with glasses, who looked down at them with welcome. She introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, and right away Rhi could tell she was a no-nonsense sort of person.  
  
"Welcome, first-years, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hogwarts was founded in. . ."  
  
Rhi looked over at Stephanie and Derek, who were whispering to each other. Why did it seem like they were excluding her from everything? She bit her lip, but forced herself to concentrate on what Professor McGonagall was saying.  
  
". . .is very old, and has sorted students into their houses since the school was founded. If you will follow me, I will lead you into the main hall, where you will line up, and when I call your name you will be sorted into one of the four houses."  
  
She turned and began to lead everyone up a tall staircase, and down a hall, where they found themselves in a huge, spacious room. Four long tables were lined up, with many hungry-looking students sitting and watching them rather anxiously as they made their way to the front of the room. The teachers were all sitting at their own table, eyeing the new arrivals. At the front of the room, they lined up, and the sorting began. 


	2. Chapter 2 - Friend... or Not?

Chapter 2 ~ Friend. . . or Not?  
  
The Sorting Hat sang a long, cheery song about houses and how it would sort them into each. Rhi didn't pay too much attention; she was still eyeing Derek and Stephanie. Professor McGonagall began to call names off the list in alphabetical order.  
  
"Nancy Avalon."  
  
A tall, skinny girl with light hair and a lot of freckles stepped up to a black stool with a tattered old hat. Looking apprehensive, she put it on and sat down. After a few moments, it shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" and Nancy, looking rather relieved, stood up, took off the hat, and went to the table decorated in gold and scarlet.  
  
"Vincent Cranchez."  
  
A chestnut-haired boy, with a sweep of his robes, followed in suit. The hat had barely even touched his forehead before it bellowed, "SLYTHERIN!" Looking pleased, he stood up and strutted over to the Green and Silver table.  
  
"Stephanie Crawfell."  
  
Pursing her lips, she put the hat on her head, and it seemed to take an eternity for it to decide where to put her. "HUFFLEPUFF!" it finally decided. She made her way to the yellow and black table.  
  
"Katelyn Dameson."  
  
A skinny, blonde girl moved forward, looking perfectly at ease. The hat took a minute, before deciding, "RAVENCLAW!"  
  
It went on like that for a while, until the line began to dwindle, and only a few were left, including she and Derek.  
  
"Samuel Terrence."  
  
The boy she had ridden in the boat with took a deep breath, put the hat on, and closed his eyes. The hat thought for a moment, and then shouted, "RAVENCLAW!" With a smile, he trotted over to his table and sat down.  
  
"Derek Thomson."  
  
With a gaze Rhi was unable to read, he shoved the hat low over his head. Only a second passed, before it shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!" Grinning widely, he took off the hat and went over to join Stephanie.  
  
"Rhiayla Venn."  
  
Biting her lip, Rhi stepped forward and put the hat on her head. Please, please, please put me in Hufflepuff, she though to herself. "Hufflepuff, eh?" A voice whispered in her ear. "But you're not a Hufflepuff at all!"  
  
Not a Hufflepuff? Rhi thought. But Stephanie and Derek are in Hufflepuff!  
  
"That doesn't matter. Where you go is decided by the kind of person you are. Believe me, you aren't a Hufflepuff. A Gryffindor, most certainly, or a Ravenclaw. . ."  
  
But. . .  
  
"Dear, I could put you in Hufflepuff, but you would find soon enough that you wished you weren't. You may not believe me now, but I'm doing you a favor. So, which would you prefer, Gryffindor, or Ravenclaw?"  
  
Oh, please just put me where my friends are!  
  
"Very, well. Then it'll have to be. . . RAVENCLAW!"  
  
Feeling very disappointed, she reluctantly took off the hat, and trudged over to the blue and gray table. She sat down next to Samuel, and put her chin in her hands as the last two people in line were sorted. Then a man with a long gray beard stood up, raised his hands and said, "I have one word for you all. . . Fudgemuffin!" And with that, he clapped his hands and sat down.  
  
Quite suddenly, the table was lined with heaping bowls and trays; despite Rhi's drooping spirits, she felt better at the sight of food. She pulled her dark brown hair out of her eyes, and filled her plate. As she was biting into a leg of baked chicken, Samuel turned to her. "So your name's Rhiayla?"  
  
She scarfed what was in her mouth down. "Yeah. But I prefer Rhi."  
  
He smiled. "That's a cool name. I'm Sam. Well, Samuel actually, but it sounds too stiff."  
  
The blond girl who was sitting across from them grinned. "Nobody uses their full name any more. I'm Katelyn; call me Katie."  
  
As Rhi filled her stomach, the three of them went on chatting. Soon another first-year named Zoey joined in. He had black hair and a wide smile. There were some pretty nice people in Ravenclaw, and she was relieved, but she sill felt very resentful that she hadn't gotten into Hufflepuff. A glance at Stephanie and Derek, however, told her that they didn't particularly care at all. They were laughing and joking and not paying Rhi the slightest bit of attention. Well, fine, if they're going to be like that. Rhi thought a bit angrily to herself. Who cares about them anyway?  
  
So she turned her attention to her new friends around her, and soon they knew quite a bit about one another.  
  
"My brother is in Gryffindor." Zoey said. "He's a fourth-year, and he told me a lot about the school. The ceiling is bewitched, to look like it is outside. And Slytherin turns out all the dark wizards and witches. There are secret corridors, and they change all the time, and the staircases move so you can never get where you're going."  
  
"Yeah, my sisters are both in Ravenclaw," Sam said. "Alia is a third-year, and Cassie is a seventh-year. They love to tell me about Hogwarts. Did you know they have hundreds of house-elves in the kitchen, and they give you as much food as you want, and all you have to do is ask?"  
  
The four of them chatted for a while, eating until they couldn't eat any more, and then had dessert on top of that. Finally, when they felt their bellies would explode, the tables were cleared, and the gray-bearded wizard stood up again. He was Dumbledore, the headmaster.  
  
"All right, everyone, the prefects in your houses will guide you all up to your dormitories. Don't forget your passwords. Tomorrow at breakfast you will receive your schedules, and will attend your classes. Please remember that the Forbidden Forest is off-limits to all students. Well, everyone have a good night's sleep, and I leave you with two words: Ziggory Zum!" With that, he turned and strode out of the room.  
  
Rhi and her three new friends all turned and followed the rest of their house out of the main hall. 


End file.
